Reunions part 3: Cosplay Chaos
by Sylmarien
Summary: Venus enters a cosplay competition but gets way more than she bargained for, chaos ensues as Malachite also enters the arena, what will happen next?
1. War

**Disclaimer: Would you believe me if I said I own Sailor Moon and everything related to it?...Nope didn't think so.**

**Okay guys, I was rereading this again after a comment I got made me think about how well I'd thought this story out and I had to agree that it needed some tweaking. Here is the revised version, if u want me to out back the old one I can, but I think this is a big improvement. Tell me what you think?**

Mina raced past the arcade, did a double take and raced back. Plastered across one of the windows was a poster advertising the new anime expo being held on Saturday. Mina quickly scanned the information about dates, times and activities until the words '$1,000 prize' caught her eye.

"A Cosplay Competition!" Mina almost shrieked, modulating her tone at the last second. "This is so cool, I have to tell the others!" she resumed her breakneck speed sprint down the street towards Rei's temple.

Bursting through the doors like miniature whirlwind she interrupted the weekly sailor scout meeting in motion. Ami was currently holding the floor as she hypothesised about the causes for the recurring youma appearances even after they'd defeated Galaxia. She stopped in mid-sentence as Mina barrelled in.

"Guys! Guys!" she cried, "Guess what's happening at Armageddon this weekend!"

Rei sighed, from past experience she knew that trying to calm Mina down when she was this excited was an exercise in futility, resigning herself to getting nothing else done this meeting she traded looks with Ami and grimaced before saying "Alright Mina, tell us what's got you so excited now, you know you're going to anyway."

Mina's overwhelming enthusiasm could not be dampened by Rei's sarcasm "They're having a cosplay competition and the prize is $1000!"

Serena laughed and clapped her hands, infected with Mina's excitement "A cosplay competition? Wow can we go? We can dress up as our favourite anime characters and who knows we might even win?" she cried.

"I know and I already have a great idea of who to go as! The Sailor Scouts!" Mina waved her hands to emphasise the 'genius' of her plan, "We'll all transform before we get there and enter as a group cosplaying as the Sailor Scouts and because we _are_ the Sailor Scouts no one can look as much like them as we can and we'll definitely win! It's foolproof."

She grabbed Serena's hands and they danced around, "Hey do you think we can invite Darien too?" Serena asked they when collapsed onto the couch with the room spinning, "Maybe we can get him to come as Tuxedo Mask."

"Great idea Serena!" Mina exclaimed. "With him there it will be a total floor wipe! We'll win everything!"

"Whoa, hold on a second guys, there is a fatal flaw to this so called perfect plan of yours." Lita cautioned, "Nathan and I have been invited to a restaurant launch by a friend of mine. We can't just cancel because of a cosplay competition."

Mina's face fell, "But, without you we won't have a full team!" tears filled her baby blue eyes as she looked pleadingly at Lita, "Can't you try to reschedule?"

"Hey, I never said I was coming either," Rei put in, "who am I supposed to leave in charge of the temple while Grandpa's away. He won't be coming back from that holiday for another week yet and I refuse to leave Chad as the only one in charge in order to go steal someone else's money."

Mina tears immediately vanished and she glared at her nitpicking friend, "We are not stealing someone else's money." She said stiffly.

"Oh no?" Raye asked with a return glare, "Well A) We wouldn't truly be cosplaying

because we are the real thing

B) If we won we would be depriving some other poor person who has put a lot of time and effort into their costume of their deserving prize whereas we would have put no effort into ours at all and therefore do not deserve to win.

C) You have to put your real name down when you sign up for things like this and that would be perilously close to revealing ourselves as the Sailor Scouts

And D) Do you really think that as a Princess of Venus this is appropriate behaviour anyway?" Rei's blistering tirade ended.

Mina's face had fallen inch by inch as Rei speech had gone on, by the end she had to admit that her 'perfect plan' was actually not so perfect. Her balloon of fantastical imaginings had been punctured by Rei's needles of cold logic and she didn't like it.

Amy tried to console Mina, "We could always make our own costumes and compete that way," she soothed "I'm sure that if we make the costumes of the Sailor Scouts ourselves they'll be imperfect enough to make it look like we aren't the real Sailors, we can even make a few deliberate mistakes. You don't have to give up completely."

Mina's shoulders slumped, "It's not going to work anyway if Rei and Lita don't come." she snapped then immediately felt guilty about being mean to Amy after she'd just tried to help. Sighing she turned to back to her blue haired friend, "Sorry Amy," she apologised "I shouldn't have got mad at you I just thought that it'd be great to have a bit of fun as Sailors rather than being serious and having to fight bad guys all the time."

Serena gave her a hug, and Lita shoved a plate of cookies in her lap, "Hey don't worry girl, we all make mistakes and who knows maybe there'll be something next year we can do." Serena said while filching a couple of cookies off Mina's plate.

"Well what do you know, the meatball head actually said something mature for a change." Rei commented snidely.

"Hey, take that back Rei, I can be as clever as you if I want I just choose not to be." Serena retorted, "it's no fun."

The Sailor Scout meeting deteriorated after that, ending up once again with Serena and Rei not speaking to each other and the other scouts breaking up the meeting before serious bodily harm could be inflicted.

As the week passed Mina refused to give up on winning the cosplay competition. If she couldn't go with all the Sailor Scouts then she'd have to go as just one. It didn't matter if she won or not, she planned to give the prize to the runner up anyway. What was really interesting to her was the thought of how much fun she could have _while_ cosplaying and how cool it would be to see how well known the Sailor Scouts really were. Armageddon attracted the best of the best and to see how well the Scouts stood up to that would be very interesting.

As time went by Mina racked her brain to find a way to compete without revealing herself but still cosplaying as a scout. Finally she hit on an idea and nearly burst out laughing at the simplicity of it all.

Yes, she couldn't cosplay as Sailor Venus because that was hitting too close to home but there was nothing stopping her from entering as Sailor V. Sailor V had originally appeared in London England and news of her had spread to other countries from there so everyone assumed she was British. No one would guess that the girl cosplaying half a world away was the real thing, even if she did look exactly like her.

Mina rubbed her hands together in glee and grinned, this would be a competition to remember.

The day of the competition Mina hurried to the convention centre and got into line for a ticket. After half an hour of waiting she bought and paid for one and was admitted into the expo by a tall silver haired man with a walkie-talkie standing by the door.

"Welcome to Armageddon, please have a nice time," he said absently as he tore her ticket and waved her through the door, listening with one ear as someone spoke to him on the walkie-talkie.

"Will do," Mina replied. With a grin she walked past him and onto the first floor of the expo. Following the signs and the guide in her map book she made her way to the bathrooms and with a quick glance around transformed into Sailor V. Walking back out she adopted an air of calm confidence even though inside she was shaking with excitement. Checking her watch told her she had two hours to burn, the cosplay competition wasn't until 12 o'clock.

"I'll go check out the stalls then," she decided and proceeded to the third floor where all the super hero stalls were, planning to see just how well known the Sailor Scouts were in the big wide world. To her joy there was an entire five stalls devoted to Sailor Scout paraphernalia and she spent half an hour browsing through posters, figurines, key chains and fanart. Pride satisfied she went looking through the other stalls and almost screamed with delight when she saw a stand that featured merchandise for her all time favourite actor Kaitou Ace. Other girls were screaming of course but Mina restrained herself to a small gasp and punching the air in delight before rushing over to the stand.

There was already quite a crowd there but Mina was an adept mall-crawler and knew every trick in the book on how to get to the front of a crush. Expertly she manoeuvred until she was near the front of the queue but then a tiny locket with Ace's picture in one half and space in the other half for another caught her eye. Instantly her hand shot out to grab it but unfortunately someone else had the same idea. In unison both their hands reached out and grasped the locket, Mina tried to pull it out of the other girls hand with a quick jerk but failed.

"Give it here, I saw I first!" she shouted across the noise to the girl on the other side of the bench who was not looking at all like she was going to let the locket go.

"Get lost, I saw it first and I grabbed it first so you let go!" the girl shouted back.

"Not happening lady," Mina muttered before yelling, "not a chance, finders keepers and losers weepers and I found it so I keep it."

"Possession is nine tenths of the law!" the other girl hollered back and then yanked the chain, Mina was forced to let go least the locket break but she wasn't going to give up that easily. Leaping the bench in true Sailor Scout style she jumped in front of the girl and grabbed the locket from her hands. Tossing some money to the startled cashier and calling "Keep the change!" she leapt off another counter and caught one of the decorative chains hanging from the roof. Swinging from it she flew out over the heads of the crowd, flipped and landed on the floor below. The crowd on the third floor broke into applause, clapping in appreciation of her antics. Waving Mina bowed once then gestured mockingly at her defeated opponent who appeared at the railing. With a blown kiss and a cheeky wave she held up the locket and then disappeared into one of the viewing rooms off to the right.

After sitting through a boring pointless movie Mina decided that she'd probably waited long enough for things to settle down and checked her watch.

"Oh no, it's nearly twelve o'clock!" she cried and sprinted out of the room.

'Whump!' Mina crashed into someone and went tumbling.

"Ow!" she cried, "What's the big idea?"

"Oh I'm sor— so you're the one who's been causing all the trouble?" she heard a voice say

Mina looked up and found herself staring into the face of the white haired man who'd let her into the expo. Thinking quickly she put on her most innocent expression and asked

"What trouble sir? I've only been watching a movie in there," and pointed towards the viewing room.

The man nodded unbelievingly and caught her arm as she tried to edge away. "Yeah I'm sure you were and quite a few other things too if rumour is to be believed. Your antics ruined two stalls and broke some of the costly decorations. Not to mention giving several people wild ideas about how to get down to the next floor. I'm afraid I'm going to have to escort you off the premises and deny access to the building for the remainder of this event." he said firmly and still holding her arm, walked her forcefully into a closed off part of the building.

"But I didn't do anything wrong, I paid for that locket!" Mina protested, "Will you at least hear my side of the story?"

Totally ignoring her the man continued walking, talking over her until she gave up "First I'm going to need you to answer some questions so we can ascertain what exactly happened and decide if charges need to be pressed," he told her as they walked. "From what the complainer says we have theft, property damage and crowd incitement."

"But I've got a cosplay contest to go to!" Mina cried

"Well I'm sorry but you're going to have to miss your contest," the man replied, clearly unconcerned.

"Who the heck do you think you are buddy? Let me go or I'll call security!" Mina cried and tried to pull her arm free without success.

The man sighed, "Lady I _am_ security, you are talking to Mark Stone, Security Officer of this event and I am really not in the mood for any tantrums or tears or shouting matches so if you will do as I say we can get this over and done with as soon as possible."

Mina gave up, she was clearly not going to get out of this one, "Okay, but are you sure there's no way can compete in the contest?" she asked hopefully.

Mark softened a little, "Sorry but no, you've broken the rules and I must abide by them but if it's any consolation there's always next year."

"I guess," Mina replied gloomily.

Mark stopped and opened a door, "in here, I'll just need you to answer a few questions and then you can go."

Mina nodded and sighed, "Alright, what do you need to know?" she sat down on the chair Mark set out for her and then waited while he got one for himself.

"Okay first –" just then a crashing sound echoed down the corridor accompanied by the sound of many people screaming and an animalistic roar that made the very walls shake. Mark's walkie-talkie burst into static and the screaming could be heard coming through the speaker as well.

"Mark! Mark! Are you there?" someone cried, "There are monsters of some kind attacking the expo! They're attacking people and doing _something _to them, they can't move and look half dead. Wait! One just got caught in some of the cables on the first floor! Its pulling down half the ceiling! Where are you man we need you to help us get the people out!"

Mark jammed the talk button down, "Don't worry James I'm on my way, keep everyone away from the monsters and get everyone out of the building! I'll be right there just stay calm!" he leapt up from his chair and then turned to Mina, "You stay right here until I get back," he ordered.

Mina jumped up from her chair too, "Wait, I can help. Let me go with you!" she cried. "I can fight this thing!"

Mark shook his head "Not a chance, there are monsters out there and whether you think you're Sailor V or not I can't let you risk yourself. Stay here, you'll only get in the way and get hurt." He pushed her aside and ran out the door, locking it behind him.

Mina stood still her mood going from slight irritation to downright furious, "Get in the way will I?" she muttered to herself then strode over to the door, hammering on it as she shouted at Mark, "You let me out right now buster I can help you!" she yelled at Mark "If you don't let me out in two seconds I swear I'm gonna break down this door!"

Mark was already halfway down the passage Mina's shout not even registering on his mind. The next shout did however.

"I warned you!" Mina cried then took out her Venus crystal. "Venus Crystal Power!"

Mark heard the muffled shout and turned back to stare at the closed door in shock, orange light poured through the gaps between the door and the wall and floor then faded as with a crash the door shattered under the impact or Sailor Venus' shoe.

Mark jumped out of the way and narrowly missed losing an eye on flying debris before Venus jumped over the remains of the door and ran down the hall.

The caught youma had already fought its way out of the entangling cables and was grabbing people left and right, draining their energy and then tossing them aside. The others were causing chaos left and right as people fell and ran over each other and in an attempt to get away. Venus assessed the situation in a glance and sprang into immediate action.

"Venus Love Chain Encircle!" she cried and threw the magical whip she kept around her waist at the monster just escaping from the roof cables. Wrapping around its limbs she pulled the chain tight, forcing it to release its current victims as it fought to break free.

"Quick, get everyone out of here!" she ordered Mark as he ran up beside her, shock still evident on his face at seeing a such a slight girl break down a steel and wood door, superhero or no.

"Do it!" Venus yelled at him, that combined with another roar from the youma snapped him back to reality.

"Got it." Mark leapt forward and like an Olympic sprinter raced down to the three people the youma had dropped and picked them up one by one, running with them to the relative safety of the courtyard outside.

Venus split her chain, anchoring one end to a concrete pillar she sent the others snaking after the other youma. Two she caught and anchored to other pillars but one more powerful than the others snapped her chain as it tightened on him. Venus whipped the end back to her and sent it flying back to him. Twice as fast as before it wrapped around him encircling him completely several times before coming back to her hand. It struggled, fighting her chain with all its worth, sometimes being almost pulled off its feet as it heaved and thrashed.

"Oh no you don't" she told it grimly as it howled and screamed at her, "I'm not letting you off this chain so you'd better get used to it." Glancing at Mark she saw he was helping to get the stampede of people outside, calmly directing his subordinates and volunteers alike until everyone was out and being led down the road out of danger.

Once everyone was out of the building Venus called on her other powers as a Sailor, now that area damage was irrelevant she could destroy rather than hold.

"Venus Meteor Shower!"

A hail of brilliant orange light shot from her hands and the air around her, raining down on the three anchored youma and burning them out of existence. The Boss youma was only mildly hurt by the attack, small burns peppered its scaly hide but it seemed more enraged by that than hurt. With a massive effort it once again broke her chain, howling its fury and charging towards her on all fours.

"And now the real fight begins my friend," Venus muttered.

"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"

A chain of light but this one more powerful and destructive than her first appeared in her hands. Venus whipped it around and cracked it towards the charging youma. The chain of orange hearts, beautiful as they were, was deadlier than it looked. As each heart hit the youma it exploded, pushing him back with the force of their impact and doing damage at the same time. Venus attacked again, this time aiming for the youma's feet, if she could disable it somehow it would be easier to fight. However the youma's size belied its speed. It jumped over the attack and used it momentum to leap forward inside her range. Before she could call the chain back a massive fist smashed into her, sending her flying into and then through one of the glass windows looking onto the first floor balcony.

Venus cried out in pain, as jagged shards of glass ripped her skin and then screamed as she landed heavily on them, driving the shards deeper. Accepting the pain and then ignoring it she sprang to her feet and sent her next attack at the youma.

"Venus Crescent Beam!" A beam of orange light shot towards the youma, driving it back into the building and burning a crater sized hole in its chest.

She ran after it, attacking with Love and Beauty Shock again, determined not to give it time to get up. Again and again she sent it flying with either her whip or a Crescent Beam but every single time she hit it, it got back up again.

The convention centre was a complete mess, stalls were either destroyed, on fire or crushed to dust, balconies were sagging, walls were full of holes and craters. "When this is over the place will probably have to be demolished" Venus said to herself, feeling a bit guilty about her part in all the damage. The moment of inattention proved to be one second too long, Venus turned to face her enemy only to see a table come flying at her, thrown by the youma. She jumped desperately but the table clipped her legs flipping her over, she landed hard on her arm and with a sickening crack felt her right wrist break.

"Ow!" Venus had felt worse pain before but it still hurt! "Alright, buster I am getting fed up with you." She told the howling thing in front of her, "Its time learned who's the real boss around here."

Drawing on reserves of energy built up through fights with numerous evil foes Venus cast an enormous Meteor Shower, orange comets flaring with sun like brilliance filled the air around her and the youma hammering it to its knees. She called up both of her whips and dual-wielded them, striking it time after time as she continued the Meteor Shower, heedless of the damage she was doing to her broken wrist.

She kept it up until her strength gave out, the storm faded and the Love and Beauty Shock whip faded too, leaving her with only the real physical Love Chain whip. Staggering a bit she kept herself upright by an effort of will and looked towards the burned heap of youma barely two metres away. Her cuts were bleeding, her right arm felt like it was on fire and the fingers were refusing to do as she told them, so she was horrified when the burnt heap moved, stood up and roared at her.

"Oh no." Venus tried to muster the strength to fling her chain but her body wasn't responding to her. The youma raised its fist, set to smash her into the floor and she was too spent to move. Venus closed her eyes and felt the communicator on her wrist spark into life.

"Venus are you there? Venus? Venus!" the other Sailors called desperately but all she had time to say was "Goodbye."

Mark made sure that everyone was heading in the right direction and then let the crowd run past him before heading back to the convention centre. Every so often the sky would light up momentarily with orange light and he knew that that Sailor Venus was still fighting. He rounded the corner where the entrance was but was blown backwards by a wall of air that came out of the building. Amazed he got up and saw the tail end of Venus' final attack. Creeping closer he saw Venus catching her breath, holding her whip in her hand and barely able to stay on her feet. She looked beautiful.

Her blonde hair fell around her like spun gold and moved gracefully in the wind that blew through the shattered husk of the building, the red ribbon was a charming touch, battered as it was. Her whip shone in her hand, reflecting light so that it almost glowed and reflected in its metallic surface were Venus' gorgeous blue eyes. She stood like a frozen statue, a gladiator from another world come to protect Earth, powerful and beautiful, a more worthy Venus than the goddess of legend.

Mark stood captivated for a moment, in that moment the youma moved, heaving itself to its feet and raising its massive fist above Venus' head. Time for Mark froze, he looked from Venus to the youma and back, saw the defeated look in her eyes, the way she bowed her head, heard voices calling her name from somewhere. Something inside him cried out with those voices, begging him not to let the shining star in front of him die out. As if she'd heard his heart cry, Venus looked towards him and smiled sadly, her lips moved "Goodbye."

Something broke inside Mark. Before he knew what he was doing he'd leapt forward in a vain attempt to reach Venus in time, black wings grew from his shoulders propelling him even faster towards his goal. His clothes glowed brightly for a moment and then faded away to reveal a dark military-like uniform edged in silver and blue. The youma's fist crashed down. A scant second before it hit, Mark grabbed Venus out from under it, catching her up mid-dive his black wings powered them both up into the air, up past the wreckage of the third and fourth floors until he found a relatively unmarked and stable space on the fifth where he gently tucked Venus out of harms way.

She looked at him through eyes glazed over with weariness and pain, too tired to even register astonishment at her sudden rescue. Instead she smiled dazedly at him and then her eyes slowly closed and her muscles went slack.

The youma roared below them and Mark took a second to check her pulse and make sure she was still alive before he dived off the ruined barrier at the edge of the floor. His wings snapped open, keeping him aloft well above the youma as he assessed its movements, strange bits of knowledge coming from somewhere him. _It's can't move its head well enough to look upwards anymore._ He realised, _Venus' attacks did too much damage to its head and neck._ Making use of his aerial advantage Mark summoned the twin boomerang-like blades that served his long-range as weapons. Throwing both with the ease and accuracy of long practice he'd never had he then drew his sword from the scabbard at his waist. The boomerangs did their work, cutting the youma along the forehead and scoring two long red lines that immediately started bleeding profusely.

The youma roared its pain and fury, blinded by the blood it flailed uselessly at the air as it tried to catch this new assailant. Malachite waited for his chance and then dove in when an opening presented itself. With the added speed and power his wings and momentum gave him, Mark drove his sword through the youma's heart, killing it instantly. He left his sword in its body, carrying on his the motion and using it to propel him back up to where Venus was. With a mighty groan the youma breathed its last and fell over, hitting the ground with a mighty crash and then turning to dust. Mark carefully picked up Venus again and then flew out of the now dangerously unstable convention centre, looking for a better place to hide.

Swift as an arrow he flew to the roof of a nearby building, the dust and debris hiding his unorthodox method of travel. He landed lightly, banishing his wings moments before his feet touched the ground, in his arms Sailor Venus was exhausted and clearly confused as to what had just happened to her. She looked up at him and for an instant her face cleared,

"It can't be," she whispered as she stared at him. "Malachite is that really you?" She shook her head and then winced. "Everything's all confused, I'm sorry that's not right, you're Mark aren't you, what did I call you before?"

Mark went rigid as soon as she called him Malachite, almost dropping her as something in his mind went 'click' and memories surged in front of his eyes. He staggered and dropped to one knee, Venus half-falling out of his arms as he lost all control of his body in the flood of memories that hearing his name had unlocked. Venus felt the change in him, she exhaustedly drew herself to her knees, kneeling in front of him and grabbing his shoulders to steady not only herself but him as well.

"Hang in there Mark whatever's happening it'll be over soon," she encouraged. Mark hung onto those words like a lifeline in a flood as all the memories of his previous life washed over him. The flood only slowly subsided but when it finally stopped Mark slowly brought his hands down from where they'd been clutching his head and opened his eyes.

Mark slowly raised his head and Sailor Venus' gasped as she saw that his eyes had turned from clear blue to silver/grey. Her hands fell nerveless to her sides as she stared at the man who had saved her life. Long silver hair fell free around his shoulders, complementing the silver and blue colours of his military uniform. White gloved hands came away from his head as his eyes cleared and then turned to look and focus on her.

Venus looked into his eyes and felt something stirring in her heart, her hands lifted of their own accord to touch his face. _Malachite_ a voice whispered in her mind, _his name is Malachite_.

Malachite saw the look on Venus' face and realised that she hadn't regained her memories as he just had. The bewilderment in her eyes was painful as she hesitantly reached up to touch his face. Instinctively Malachite knew what to do although part of him baulked at doing something so forward. As Venus slowly withdrew her hand Malachite gently caught her wrist and pulled her into his arms. Cradling her face in one hand he kissed her with all the love and passion they had once shared in their time on the moon.


	2. Love

_It was love at first sight for Malachite although he would never admit it. He'd first seen his blonde beauty in the fields near the castle, hiding from one of the many patrols that swept the area. Her hair and clothes blended perfectly with the sun bleached wheat crops and it was only by virtue of his keen eyes discerning the blue of hers that he noticed her there among the stalks. _

_Casually he dropped to the rear of his column and circled around behind her, dismounting from his horse and stealthily creeping up behind the strange blonde beauty. He was only a few metres away when he carelessly placed his foot on a dried up leaf and it crumbled beneath him with an audible crackle. Instantly he leapt forward but she was gone, running through the crops as fast and as graceful as a gazelle, her long hair flying in the wind created by her own speed. Swiftly he ran after her and she looked back at him once, her sapphire blue eyes meeting his own silver grey ones for but an instant before she ran behind a particularly thick patch of wheat and disappeared. When he reached the same spot moments later she was gone, leaving no trace of where she'd been save a single blonde hair that had caught on a branch._

_Many times in the next couple of months he thought he caught glimpses of her in and around the castle but whenever he tried to catch her or get closer she always disappeared and she never left any trace save the single hair he'd found after their first encounter. As time wore on he gradually ceased looking for her, relegating his experience to a one-off encounter. It was a great surprise to him then, when acting as escort to Prince Endymion while he concluded negotiations with the Silver Millennium that he saw that self-same girl in the welcoming party led by Queen Serenity when they exited the carrier after teleporting for the first time to the Kingdom of the Moon._

_Keeping his face as neutral as possible he scrutinised the majestic princess before him and tried to reconcile her with the fleeing gazelle of a girl that he remembered. The question of her identity nagged at him for the rest of the ceremonial introductions and all through the welcoming dinner. In all that time the Princess of Venus didn't even glance at him, instead she focused on the Prince and his other Generals, only acknowledging him when courtesy demanded it. It was not until the next morning when he went to the practice courts for his morning workout that he saw the girl he remembered so well._

_He'd woken up early as always and asked directions to the Palace's practice courts. After following the comprehensive instructions given to him he rounded a corner and the courts opened up before him. Fighting in the middle of them was the Princess of Venus clad in the sailor uniform worn only by the Sailor Scouts who protected the Queen and Princess of the Moon. Wielding only a chain seemingly made of orange light she squared off against three of the elite palace guard. _

_Malachite watched in fascination as within minutes the Princess had disarmed all three of the guards, each of them receiving several minor cuts and bruises while she remained completely unscathed. At the end she held out her hand to each guard and helped them to their feet._

"_Great job guys," she said to them "Give it few more weeks and you'll be the ones disarming me."_

_One of the guards grinned at her "Not a chance Princess, we know the only ones who disarm you anymore are Jupiter and your mother. We know that ordinary guys like us don't stand a chance against any of the Sailor Scouts," he said._

"_But we do love to practice with you Princess, it gives us perspective and also adds a whole new meaning to the phrase 'Love Hurts'" another guard chimed in with a grin, "no offence."_

_Venus grinned right back, "none taken." She turned to the rest of the men "Alright then who wants to take the next shot?"_

_Malachite stepped forward. "May I have the honour?" he asked._

_Venus looked him up and down then smiled, "haven't we already been down this road?" she replied._

_Malachite raised an eyebrow, "So it was you after all, I thought as much but that was back then when I was at a disadvantage not knowing who you were or your abilities and thus I underestimated you." He unsheathed his practice sword and went into the guard position. "Trust me I won't be making that mistake again."_

_Venus raised her own eyebrows but waved her men back to the edges of the court._

"_Alright then Earthboy, let's see what you're made of," she said, "First to disarm their opponent wins, are you ready?"_

"_Ready."_

"_Then en guard" and Venus commenced her attack._

_What ensued would become a palace legend for as long as the Moon Kingdom survived. For a full half-hour Malachite and Venus feinted, parried, dodged and weaved around each other in a dance almost too complex for the eye to follow. Venus wielded her chain as only an expert born to its use could while Malachite –the best fighter among all the Generals –wielded his sword and dagger like the adept he was. As they duelled on, word spread throughout the castle and a crowd gathered around the practice court. The rest of the Scouts and Malachite's fellow Generals appeared first with the rest of the court not far behind. Venus and Malachite never even noticed the growing crowd, focused on each other as they were._

_The duel finally ended when with a quick twist of her chain Venus wrapped both its ends around his sword and dagger and yanked them from his hands. The blades flipped high into the air and then clattered to the floor. Panting for breath Malachite braced his himself on his knees for a moment before straightening and then performing an elegant bow in Venus' direction._

"_Well fought my lady, very well fought," he said, "Would you be available to practice again tomorrow? It has been a long time since someone tested my skills as thoroughly as you."_

_Venus grinned at him. "I would be honoured my lord," she said then walked over and handed him his sword back with a bow of her own. Cheers erupted from the onlookers and both Venus and Malachite looked around in surprise at the mass of people that had gathered during their bout. Embarrassed Malachite bowed once more, hiding his face in the curtain of his hair while Venus merely laughed and waved._

_That day began a habitual event in the castle, every sunrise would find Venus and Malachite battling furiously against each other for an hour or more before breakfast was served. Sometimes they left off battling each other and together drilled both the Moon Kingdom's warriors and the Silver Millennium's. Every officer bowed to the combined skill and strength of Venus and Malachite who on and off the practice court acted with the utmost courtesy and decorum towards each other. Queen Serenity however looked on knowingly and saw what even the practiced eyes of her courtiers missed –the love growing between the mischievous child that Venus was on the inside and the gentle caring young man Malachite was able to become when he was with her._

_In each other's company Venus and Malachite transformed. Venus became the spontaneous fun-loving gazelle she had been before the duties and responsibilities of a Sailor Scouts life had changed her into the harder more demanding leader she was. Malachite was able to let down his barriers and become the gentle compassionate man he longed to be rather than the battle-hardened General he showed to the outside world. Only Queen Serenity was aware of the change the two wrought in each other yet its effects were far reaching._

_As time progressed tell tale signs began to alert their friends to what was happening and soon after, Venus told Serenity and Malachite confided in Endymion the truth of their relationship. For those two it answered many questions they'd been wanting to ask and both of them encouraged their friends to admit their love openly. With their support Venus and Malachite gathered their courage and declared their love for each other and it was with relief and delight they found their love returned. With that matter settled and with the help of Endymion and Serenity they planned how to make their relationship known to the court._

_It was the night of the Midsummer Ball and everyone was excited. Tonight the negotiations between Earth and the Moon were completed and Earth was to be admitted into the Silver Millennium. Prince Endymion was betrothed to Princess Serenity as a symbol of the union and tonight would be the official beginning of their engagement. In honour of this at the Midsummer Ball there was to be a masquerade, Earthlings and Moonchildren alike would mix and mingle until midnight when every mask would be removed –symbolic of the estrangement of the two kingdoms until now when old hatreds and enmities would be set aside in favour of a brighter future._

_It was at this ball that Malachite and Venus schemed their big reveal. Using the masquerade to their advantage they decided to use and old Earth legend to 'let the cat out of the bag'._

_There were differences in the Moon's version of the legend however they were of no import as they would not affect Venus and Malachite's plan. They had decided to dress as a famous Prince and Princess had at the ball when they and their forbidden love were discovered, it would have a certain symmetry and it would make it perfectly obvious how they both felt about each other. Since the theme for the Masquerade was also 'beneath the sea' there would be no mistaking who they were each dressed up as either, the legend was one of the Moonchildren's favourite's and it was well known on Earth too._

_On the night of the ball Venus and Malachite, masked and dressed exactly as the Prince and Princess of the legend entered the ballroom of the Moon palace together. Venus was a beautiful orange butterfly, her mask patterned like wings and her dress made of an iridescent material that shimmered and changed colour when she moved. Malachite was a silver arctic fox, his mask patterned like fox fur and his usual military garb replaced by a silver and grey suit that Venus thought made him look just like a Prince. For the whole night they danced with no but each other, the court took note of this but there were many other love-struck couples on the floor and so there was no great importance attached to it. As the clock struck midnight Queen Serenity rose from where she had been sitting on the throne and tapped her staff on the marble floor of the ballroom to get everyone's attention._

"_It is now time for the removal of masks and with them all previous grievances the Silver Millennium and Earth have had between them. We welcome Earth into the Silver Millennium!" her voice was filled with joy and happiness and as she spoke all over the room tiny little lights winked into existence – the Silver Crystal had responded to its Queen's mood. The lights fell from the ceiling like glittering stars and when caught they turned to tiny glass orbs that glowed from within._

_All around them as masks were removed Venus and Malachite looked deep into each other's eyes. Together they reached up and slowly took off each other's masks, gasps of shock and cries of wonder were heard as the people nearest to them recognised the pair and realised who they were. Malachite put his arm defensively around Venus as word quickly spread and more and more people turned to look. _

_Serenity and Endymion came over to lend their support and Serenity immediately rushed to Venus and hugged her._

"_Congratulations Venus" she whispered and then turned to the mass of silent people around them, "My Lords and Ladies we have witnessed a most wonderful event tonight," she told the dumbstruck crowd "For today not only have I been engaged to my beloved Prince but it seems that another couple wish to make their love known as well, should we not congratulate them in having the courage to take another step forward in bridging the gap between our two peoples?" Her gaze met every eye in the room, shaming them for making such a scene and for judging Malachite and Venus so quickly. _

_No one knew who started to clap but a single person started to applaud, then another person joined in and another and another and soon the entire room was cheering their courage. Venus curtsied with exquisite grace in thanks while Malachite bowed and then they moved back onto the dance floor, pointedly waiting for the musicians to start again. Quickly the embarrassed band struck up a tune and the night progressed under the watchful eyes of Queen and Princess Serenity._

_The next morning though Venus and Malachite were interrogated thoroughly by their respective comrades about how, when, where they had started their relationship and why hadn't they been told about it before? Endymion and Serenity did their best to help their poor friends and as the morning passed Venus and Malachite were eventually released from their 'interrogation rooms' and allowed to back out into the world. _

_Their relationship remained a hot topic of conversation for several weeks but as nothing new or interesting happened –Venus and Malachite continued in their same routine only now they talked and laughed with each other instead of ignoring each other or making polite conversation. Time passed and they soon faded from the gossip circles, however their love did not fade but waxed stronger with each passing day, Venus _was_ the Sailor of Love and Beauty after all._

_Several months after the Midsummer Ball terrible news of an evil woman who wielded dark powers began to come from Earth. Tales of atrocities and deeds beyond imagining were brought with the survivors who made it to the capital and it wasn't long before Endymion and his Generals were summoned back to Earth in order to combat her. Intelligence said the woman's name was Beryl and that she wielded the power of the Negaverse's greatest Queen, Metallia._

_For months Endymion and his Generals led the war against Beryl but with Metallia's power in her grasp she simply overwhelmed them. Slowly she drove Earth's forces to retreat, leaving a trail of death in her wake. Tactics meant nothing to her as she merely summoned unending armies of youma that won her battles through sheer weight of numbers. Of the cities that she conquered she took no prisoners, allowing her armies to slaughter warriors and children alike. Endymion's troops saved as many as they could but they could never drive Beryl back, only slowly retreat, protecting the refugees as they fled to the Capital and then the Moon, buying time for the evacuations to be complete. _

_At first Malachite called Venus daily but under the weight of work that needed to be done his calls fell to weekly, then monthly and then they stopped completely. Venus knew that Malachite was doing his best and understood that she came second to his need to protect his home and people but that didn't stop her heart from hurting or her mind from worrying as the months passed and she received no word._

_When Beryl finally arrived at Terra, the capital city of Earth she conquered it within a single hour. Destroying the Palace Gates she engaged Endymion and his Generals in battle and they too were defeated. Despairingly Malachite and his fellow Generals retreated into the depths of the palace, taking a wounded Endymion with them. As Zoicite helped him to the telepads and into a carrier Malachite, Jadeite and Nephrite fought desperately against Beryl's minions to buy them some time. As they fought the never ending tide of monsters Beryl appeared in the sky before them._

"_You fight with honour and have great power Generals of Earth," she told them, her voice wriggling in their minds like a snake, "I will save you from my armies and make you Kings of the Universe if you surrender now and agree to serve me." _

_Malachite glanced at Zoicite and saw him make the final preparations for Endymion's escape. Moving forward he looked up at the woman before him._

"_Beryl you are a snake," he said to her," poisonous as the deadliest venom and a liar who sheds her skin and shows her true colours as soon as anyone's back is turned. You may have destroyed this planet in your quest for power but its people and its Prince live on. You may offer us all the riches of the universe but we will refuse you every time for we know who you really are and your promises are as worthless as dust on the wind."_

_Beryl screamed her fury at such insults and Malachite turned to Zoicite "NOW"! he roared._

_Zoicite hit the launch button and Endymion, even as Beryl's final blow destroyed his Generals before his very eyes and half-rocked the carrier off its telepad disappeared, whisked away to the safety of the moon._

_A single month later Earth's Generals were returned to the Moon but they were not what they once were. Metallia had turned their hearts to darkness and corrupted their minds with hate. They led Beryl's forces against the armies of the Silver Millennium and defeated them. The Sailor Scouts were forced to face the Generals in battle as they fought to save the Moon Kingdom from Beryl and the Generals from themselves._

_Heartsick Venus guarded Endymion and Serenity as she heard Beryl's warriors grow closer and closer. Finally the door to the room where they waited burst inwards and in the remains of the doorway Malachite stood and smiled at her._

"_It's been a while hasn't it Venus?" he asked mildly "I bet you haven't seen how strong I am now, why don't we have another practice bout to so you can find out?" his sword was already drawn, covered in blood it shone crimson in the moon's light._

_Venus moved in front of Endymion and Serenity and went into a fighting stance. "Endymion get Serenity out of here," she ordered. "Go to the Queen, she will protect you. I'll take care of these small fry."_

_Malachite grinned at her in a gruesome parody of the easy smile he'd worn during their mornings on the practice courts. "That's not very nice you know," he drawled, "You can talk about the my warriors that way but you know as well as I do that I never was and never will be 'small fry' as you so eloquently put it."_

_Venus controlled herself as her heart broke at seeing what had become of the man she loved. "You'd better attack me before your prey escapes Monster, I doubt Beryl would be too pleased with you if you failed to give her what she wanted."_

_Malachite didn't even blink, his now black eyes remained cold and distant despite her taunt and nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, she is a bit harsh when people do what she doesn't like but I've got plenty of time to play with Endymion and his little Moonbrat, I think I'll have some fun with you first," he replied and without a flicker of emotion across his face he attacked._

_Venus summoned her chain and for a moment it was just like when they had practiced together all those months ago. Venus felt the air around her lighten and the sun seemed to shine through the clouds for a second but then Malachite's sword smashed into her spread chain and she realised that this was a far different Malachite than the one she had known. This Malachite was stronger, faster and infinitely more cruel. He toyed with her, testing her defences and reactions as she in her turn searched for an opening with which to destroy him. She understood now that the man in front of her held no connection to the man she had loved save for his looks and that in order to protect her Princess she had to kill him._

_They danced around each other, Venus' chain moving like a flickering whip of light while Malachite's sword flashed just as quick, up and down and around her like a ravening wolf. They were perfectly matched. Venus' speed and agility made up for her lack of strength and size while Beryl's evil energy had increased Malachite's power so that every blow he landed was twice as strong as the last._

_Finally Venus' patience was rewarded as she found an opening in Malachite's defences. She lunged in, her chain whipping around Malachite's arms as he prepared for a two-handed down-stroke. Ducking underneath his stroke and inside his range Venus pulled on her chain, dragging Malachite off balance and down onto the point of the dagger that she drew from her leg sheathe and plunged into his heart._

_Malachite went rigid and then sighed, Venus caught him as he crumpled to the ground, tears falling freely from her eyes as she looked once more into the eyes of her first true love. Malachite grasped her hand as she pulled the dagger free but even as he did so the life left his eyes and his hand fell. Venus screamed her grief to the sky as she saw his spirit claimed once again by Metallia's darkness and she rose to her feet as Beryl herself appeared in front of her._

_The red-haired witch glowered at Venus as she stared at Malachite and then she laughed wickedly, the sound grating on Venus' ears like nails on a chalkboard._

"_Well, I never really expected him to defeat you but the least he could have done was wound you. I really am disappointed in you, you know. I thought you wouldn't have the heart to kill your soul mate but I guess I underestimated you Princess," she said, every word striking like a blow to Venus' heart. Her face hardened, "I won't be making that mistake again." she raised her staff and a column of black energy roared out of the sky and fell on Venus._

_Venus screamed in agony as the crackling energy lashed at her like lightning from where she was trapped in the center of the column. The energy wrapped around her arms and legs, holding her in shackles which burned like fire. Venus screamed and screamed and Beryl laughed at her pain until finally she tired of her game and sent a beam of dark lightning crackling from her staff. The beam hit Venus directly above her heart, stopping it instantly. As pain ripped through her once more Venus saw a vision of Queen Serenity come before her, the Queen gently took her hand, banishing the pain and filling her body with gentle warmth as she fell down into the void._

"_You fought bravely my Warrior of Love, do not fear, for you will be with your loved one again and this time you will have one another forever. Sleep Princess and be free once more." Queen Serenity's voice whispered softly in Venus' mind and smiling Venus gave up the fight to live and the light of the Silver Crystal carried her away._


	3. Peace

Mina opened her eyes and blinked sleepily.

"So you're awake dear heart," she heard a voice say.

"Who's that?" she mumbled, still half asleep. "I had such a strange dream –" then it all came flooding back to her and jumped to her feet, wincing as her body reminded her of the abuse she'd put it through only a few minutes earlier. Turning to look down at the man whose lap she had been lying on her hands went over her mouth and trembled as she looked into Malachite's face, she shook her head unbelieving.

"This can't be happening," she whispered. "It can't be you, not after all this time?"

Malachite slowly got to his feet and held out his arms to her, "it is me Venus," he said softly to her. "I've come back to you like Queen Serenity said I would." He took a step towards her.

Mina backed away, still unable to believe what was happening, her eyes were filled with tears which spilled over, running down her cheeks and across her hands which were still clasped tightly over her mouth. Malachite moved with surprising swiftness, covering the distance between them and catching her uninjured hand before she could react.

"I'm real Venus," he whispered to her and touched her still trembling hand to his face. Venus gave a small gasp as she touched not a ghostly apparition but real flesh and blood. Slowly her other hand reached out and touched his arm, feeling the material that covered it before slowly curling her fingers into the fabric, as if to make sure her hand wouldn't pass through it.

"I told you, I'm real Venus," Malachite repeated, "Do you believe me now?"

Mina raised her head and wonderingly looked Malachite full in the face, as she saw those silver grey eyes that were filled with love and warmth she finally dared to believe.

"Malachite?" she whispered, he nodded and then pulled her into his arms, holding her gently, careful of her numerous wounds but needing to feel her close to him, after so long a time of being apart. Venus hugged him as best as she was able, her tears wetting his shoulder.

"Malachite," she sobbed, "It's really you. I never thought that I'd find you but you're really here." She pulled back and Malachite let go of her reluctantly, still holding the hand he'd captured, refusing to totally break contact with her.

As he looked at the woman he'd loved since for over a thousand years she raised her hand and then slapped him on the face as hard as she could.

"Where _were_ you!" Mina yelled, "What took you so long to find me? Did you know how long I looked for you and how hard it was to watch everyone else find their soul mate while I remained alone?"

Malachite endured the storm, knowing he deserved this and much worse for what he'd put her through in the past and up till now. Mina railed at him for another several minutes before in one of her characteristic mood-swings she suddenly stopped and threw herself into Malachite's arms once more. Holding him close she whispered fiercely into his ear,

"If you ever leave me like that again I will never forgive you. You have to promise you'll be won't ever leave me again."

Malachite nodded into her hair then gently unwound her arms from around his waist and knelt before her. Placing his hand over his heart while holding Venus' hand in the other he spoke,

"Sailor Venus, Princess of the Planet Venus and Sailor Scout of Love I swear to stay by your side from now on and to never leave unless death takes me or you order me away."

Mina nodded solemnly and raised him to his feet before flinging her arms around him once more and kissing him passionately. "You are mine Malachite," she told him when they broke apart, "And just as you will never leave me I swear I will never leave you."

Malachite bowed his head in acknowledgement and then suddenly raised it again, "You know my real name is Malachite but my name in this time is Mark."

Venus smiled, "Mark Stone, I remember. My name in this time is Mina Aino"

"Mina," Malachite repeated, "Well them Mina, I think it's time I took you to get some medical treatment and then how about you introduce me to the rest of the Scouts?" He swept Mina up into his arms and summoned his wings once more –"

"Wait!" Mina cried, "shouldn't we detransform, we'd look a bit conspicuous walking around town in our present costumes."

Malachite grinned, "this was an anime convention remember, you transform into Sailor V and then no-one will ever know."

Venus laughed, "You know you're right." And with that she raised her Venus crystal and transformed into Sailor V and together they descended from the building, Malachite holding her tightly in his arms as he flew them down to an empty alleyway.

The Scouts were ecstatic that she'd finally found her soul-mate from the Silver Millennium and the other Generals were just as happy to meet up with Malachite again. With him found the group was finally complete, a Prince and Princess, each with their four Guardians and the two advisors who had seen them and still would see them through thick and thin until the promised future came to pass.


End file.
